On the face of it they seem to be about fame, appearing to be very clean living, and at the same time hinting that he is interested in sex rather than intoxicants.
I am probably reading far too much into them but Adam Ant is someone who had a mystical/psychotic experience and there is something about these lyrics, that make me think that they may also be about an altered state of consciousness, or my axe to grind.
A little preamble. Derrida claims that the Western world, our philosophy, religion, and self above all, centre on the experience of hearing oneself speak in ones head. We usually assume that the phoneme are accompanied by ideas which we call to mind via the phonemes, to weigh up the ideas, or practice saying them to others. Derrida however believes that there is no duality (phoneme in the head, plus idea, concept whatever) except in time. We say things to ourselves, and then we hear and react to them. By doing this we create in ourselves a sort of radio play with one actor and two personae who act out a sordid love affair inside our heads. Derrida illustrates this with his book "The Post Card" which appears to be a collection of auto-erotic, homo-erotic, self-addressed, postcards. Derrida links the way in which language gets inside us to the myth of the fall in Genesis.
Adam Ant also named himself Adam after Adam in Genesis and as an ant, some how minute in comparison to that which he had experienced.
The verse
If the words unspoken,
Get stuck in your throat
Send a treasure token, token,
Write it on a pound note, pound note
Remind me of the Fall (Adam's apple stuck in your throat), and Derrida's gambit, comparing words in the mind to those written on post cards.
This verse, seems so straight forward till the final line.
Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do?
You don't drink don't smoke - what do you do?
Subtle innuendoes follow,
There must be something inside
It sounds like he is being asked what he is into. And the subtle innuendoes suggests that he is into sex (as he was, by all accounts) but what is the "There must be something inside" bit? Again, this reminds me of Derrida and the internal love affair.
Then there are some verses that seem to be about fame, but once again, returning to the words stuck in his throat. I am sure that I am reading too much into this!
On the face of it they seem to be about fame, appearing to be very clean living, and at the same time hinting that he is interested in sex rather than intoxicants.
I am probably reading far too much into them but Adam Ant is someone who had a mystical/psychotic experience and there is something about these lyrics, that make me think that they may also be about an altered state of consciousness, or my axe to grind.
A little preamble. Derrida claims that the Western world, our philosophy, religion, and self above all, centre on the experience of hearing oneself speak in ones head. We usually assume that the phoneme are accompanied by ideas which we call to mind via the phonemes, to weigh up the ideas, or practice saying them to others. Derrida however believes that there is no duality (phoneme in the head, plus idea, concept whatever) except in time. We say things to ourselves, and then we hear and react to them. By doing this we create in ourselves a sort of radio play with one actor and two personae who act out a sordid love affair inside our heads. Derrida illustrates this with his book "The Post Card" which appears to be a collection of auto-erotic, homo-erotic, self-addressed, postcards. Derrida links the way in which language gets inside us to the myth of the fall in Genesis.
Adam Ant also named himself Adam after Adam in Genesis and as an ant, some how minute in comparison to that which he had experienced.
The verse
If the words unspoken, Get stuck in your throat Send a treasure token, token, Write it on a pound note, pound note
Remind me of the Fall (Adam's apple stuck in your throat), and Derrida's gambit, comparing words in the mind to those written on post cards.
This verse, seems so straight forward till the final line.
Don't drink don't smoke - what do you do? You don't drink don't smoke - what do you do? Subtle innuendoes follow, There must be something inside
It sounds like he is being asked what he is into. And the subtle innuendoes suggests that he is into sex (as he was, by all accounts) but what is the "There must be something inside" bit? Again, this reminds me of Derrida and the internal love affair.
Then there are some verses that seem to be about fame, but once again, returning to the words stuck in his throat. I am sure that I am reading too much into this!